Defendant was convicted on all counts and was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment followed by one year of supervised release.

Small penality for someone who milked shareholders.

Defendant was the President, Secretary, and sole Director of Real American Brands, Inc. (“RLAB”). The Second Superseding Indictment alleged that Defendant agreed to pay kickbacks to induce a pension fund to buy restricted shares of RLAB’s penny stock. When informed that the pension fund would no longer purchase any more of RLAB stock, Defendant conspired with a friend, Yan Skwara, to pay the same kickbacks for the purchase of stock in Skwara’s company. Unbeknownst to Defendant, the pension fund was fictitious and he was speaking with undercover FBI agents.

The District Court properly found that an abuse-of-trust enhancement was justified in this case. Defendant abused his position as a fiduciary to his shareholders, and used that position to facilitate the commission of the offense. Accordingly, we affirm as to this issue. V. Conclusion Based on the foregoing and our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm Defendant’s convictions and sentence. AFFIRMED.